This desert library, standing amid dust, rocks and catci, was "wallpapered" with book pages, had a cup of bookmarks and included numerous Greek-language books. We added the Raggedy Ann book and one other.
Related posts
Monday, July 7, 2025
Little Free Library in the Catalina Foothills
Saturday, July 5, 2025
Ephemera I wish I still had
These are things I think about sometimes and that, for the most part, can never be retrieved. It's interesting how many of them are from between ages 7 and 12.
- The psychedelic posters that Mom had on her bedroom walls in Rose Valley as a young woman. I wrote in 2023 about my quest to rediscover that vibe.
- Circa 1981, my Pappy took me for a walk one afternoon and bought me a digest-size Richie Rich comic book at a corner family store. I wish I still had it.
- I also wish I still had the comic books my parents bought me during a multifamily trip to the Jersey shore in the late 1970s. I was never much of a comic book kid growing up, but I have fond memories of that trip and those comics, which included Star Wars, the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom.
- A "newspaper" I wrote in third grade on an 8½-by-11 sheet of paper. The lead story was Buddy the cat upsetting a tray of cooling cookies in our kitchen. Dad made photocopies of it at work, and I mailed some of them out.
- Also in third grade, I wrote a short sequel to Watership Down for an assignment in class.
- And my third-grade class group photo with Mrs. Winston, taken on a sunny day outside my Clayton, New Jersey, elementary school. (I really need to do a post on that school. I can't believe I haven't yet.)
- A short horror story I wrote while in fourth grade. I don't think it was for an assignment.
- A blue-cover notebook that I filled with the details of a D&D world I created circa 1982, complete with maps and details about the inhabitants.
- My college newspaper clippings from The Daily Collegian, most of which were sportwriting. I kept them for the longest time, in case I needed them for job applications. But eventually, along came a move or pruning — I can't even remember which one — that they didn't survive. It's not like they took up much space.
- One of those Scholastic Books or Weekly Reader order catalogs that we happily anticipated each month during elementary and middle schools.
- Monster finger puppets I made circa 1979.
- In the late 1970s in Clayton, my friend Mike and I would use color markers to draw pictures of the Phillies and list out their starting lineups.
- In the early 1980s, I had a small metal box full of Phillies newspaper clippings and other Phillies-related ephemera.
- Some of the elaborate spaceship, tank and airplane drawings I made as a kid in the early 1980s. I spent a lot of time drawing through middle school.
- Infocom game boxes and also the box for Ultima IV that had the cloth map and other trinkets inside.
- Booklets I created on my Commodore Plus/4 and printed out on its dot-matrix printer.
- Early 1980s copies of Sunday Grit featuring full coverage of the previous day's Little League World Series championship game in Williamsport.
- A cookbook that my first-grade class (Mrs. Miller) in Montoursville compiled, featuring family recipes from all of the students. Mom contributed "Mommy's Favorite Hamburger Hash," which, to the best of my recollection, was ground beef, cream of mushroom soup and chopped-up hard-boiled eggs poured over toast.
- School yearbooks! I only have my 12th-, 11th- and eighth-grade yearbooks. I wish I had others. I know I had fifth- and sixth-grade yearbooks from C.E. McCall Middle School, but can't fathom why they were tossed.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
John Bressler Otto, plasterer
It's from the July 28, 1887, Hazleton (Pennsylvania) Sentinel and states: "John B. Otto, Plasterer and dealer in plastering material. Cornice Work a Specialty. Office on Laurel St., Diamond Addition."
I learned that he was a plasterer from his death certificate. Various tidbits of information have now allowed me to piece together a little bit of John Bressler Otto's timeline (complicated by there being a lot of John B. Ottos in Pennsylvania!):
- 1837: Born in Hegins, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, of which his grandfather (William B. Otto, 1761-1841) was one of the early pioneers.
- 1863: Was a private in the volunteer 173rd Pennsylvania Regiment, Company F, during the Civil War. The regiment participated in the pursuit of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, from July 12-24, following the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
- 1869: Living in Hazleton when my great-grandfather, John Algernon Otto (1869-1963), is born.
- 1887: Living and working as a plasterer in Hazleton
- Sometime in the 1890s: Family moved to Allentown
- Late 1901: Family moved to Easton, where he was buried in 1906
Upon further review, I think this timeline makes it extremely unlikely that John Bressler Otto was the "John B. Otto" who was briefly excommunicated from First Reformed Church of Easton in 1903. I don't think he could have become a deacon after moving there so recently. I'm still very glad I did that post, though, because it's a great story that should be remembered.
Monday, June 30, 2025
Oddball movie connections
I love oddball connections or inspirations that people have in jumping between wildly different movies. So the above comment that I saw last week on Facebook really made me chuckle. It must be the first (and only?) time that the corny and overlong Children of the Corn horror series led someone to Godfrey Reggio's non-narrative and meditative documentaries Koyaanisqatsi (1982), Powaqqatsi (1988) and Naqoyqatsi (2002).
Ever since, Ashar and I have joked that if it's too dry and we need to summon some summer rain, we should watch one of the Children of the Corn movies. I have the one with Naomi Watts on standby, just in case.
Saturday, June 28, 2025
"Famous Chicken Inn" menu from 1939 New York World's Fair
The featured item is milk-fed Southern Fried Chicken, with "all the trimmins," consisting of cole slaw, potatoes, rolls and butter. Cost: 65 cents! That's the equivalent of about 15 dollars today, adjusted for inflation. So it seems like a pretty fair price, especially given that prices at fairs tend to be a bit inflated.
Here's a sampling of some other prices from the menu:
- Renault champagne cocktail, 35 cents
- Individual bottle of Renault sauterne or brandy, 50 cents
- Chicken soup with noodles, 15 cents
- Chicken liver with onions (or mushrooms), 50 cents
- Tomato juice, 15 cents
- Ham sandwich, 20 cents
- French fries, 15 cents
- Chicken platter (cold), 75 cents
- Plain cake, 10 cents
- Ice cream, 15 cents
- Coffee with cream, 10 cents (though a red stamp in the margins indicates "iced tea or coffee, 15 cents")
- Edelbrau & Goldenrod beer on draught, 10 cents
Pasted to the back of the menu is a separate typewritten and mimeographed sheet with the Famous Chicken Inn special platters, which cost 35 cents and thus looked like pretty good bargain. They included:
- Fried filet of sole, tartar sauce, carrots and peas, mashed potatoes
- Beef paprika goulash, spaghetti
- Macaroni and ham au gratin, string beans
- Creamed chicken and mushrooms, string beans, mashed potatos
- Chopped tenderloin steak, smothered with onions, carrots and peas, mashed pot.
- Chicken chow mein, rice and noodles
- Chicken giblets, mashed potatos, carrots and peas
- Spaghetti and meat balls
- Vegetable dinner
- Famous chicken salad
- Ham and potatoe salad
And you could finish it off with a slice of chocolate cake for 15 cents!
- Old postcard: "The World's Most Famous Chicken Dish"
- Swift's Premium, Meat power and two fried chicken recipes
- Celebrate Papergreat's 400th post with a gallery of chickens
- Celebrating Papergreat's 600th post with chickens, past and present
- Mystery RPPC: Feeding chickens
- Mystery RPPC: Feeding chickens (Chapter 2)
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Excommunicated! A family story (maybe) about Communion cups
It started innocently, as I was just using Newspapers.com to try to fill in some of the blanks in Dad's genealogy chart. But even when I'm doing something straightforward, I'm prone to falling down rabbit holes. And was this ever a deep one!
On the paternal side of my family tree, the line of men looks like this:
Ashar: 2000-present
It's John Bressler Otto we're going to discuss today. He's my great-great-grandfather and Ashar's great-great-great-grandfather. He's pictured at right in a photo that was posted on Find A Grave by Jim Neely. He was married to Margaret Alice English Otto (1839-1925), and, based on what I pieced together from multiple sources, they had at least seven children, though I'm not fully confident in the accuracy of this list: Charles Percy Otto; John Algernon Otto (1869-1963); Amy E. Otto (1874-1946); Florence Emily Otto (1864-1934); Alice May Otto (1877-1902, died of consumption); Horace Otto; and William Warren Otto (1879-1922). 
My great-great-grandfather — a deacon — excommunicated!
And there was John B. Otto who lived from 1845 to 1910 and was an alderman. He's always listed as John B. Otto in the news articles I found (a clue, but not a definitive one), and I can't make out his middle name from the death certificate shown here. He was single and had no children.
Me: 1970-present
Dad: John Alan Otto, 1947-present
Dad's father (my Pappy): John Alexander Otto (1911-1991)
Dad's grandfather: John Algernon Otto (1869-1963)
Dad's great-grandfather: John Bressler Otto (1837-1906)
We know that John Bressler Otto was a plasterer by trade, according to his death certificate. And we know that he was a private in the volunteer 173rd Pennsylvania Regiment, Company F, during the Civil War. The regiment participated in the pursuit of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, from July 12-24, following the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
Many decades later, John Bressler Otto was excommunicated from his church.
Maybe!
This is where it becomes a mystery.
When I started this tangled thread of research more than a year ago, I discovered this short article about "John B. Otto" on Page 8 of the February 16, 1903, edition of the Allentown (Pennsylvania) Daily Leader.
Again, maybe.
There's one big hurdle I haven't been able to overcome, and it's that were two men named John B. Otto in the Easton, Pennsylvania, area at this time.
There was John Bressler Otto.
So, who was more likely to be a deacon at First Reformed Church of Easton in 1903?
— John Bressler Otto, a 65-year-old plasterer who was married with children, or
— John B. Otto, a 57-year-old alderman who was single with no children?
I just don't know.
Either way, there was a fascinating uproar involving a John B. Otto.
And it deserves to be retold, whether or not it involves my family tree.
After reading that initial short news article, I didn't learn the full story until I came across a lengthy article on the front page of the March 2, 1903, edition of the Allentown Daily Leader.
It turns out that John B. Otto was excommunicated because he was ... advocating for commonsense public hygiene measures in the midst of a typhoid epidemic.
Crazy!
I've retyped the whole story of the "Fighting Parson" here for your reading enjoyment.
A FIGHTING PARSON
Dr. Kieffer Was the Drummer Boy of the Bucktails
RANCOROUS EASTON CHURCH WAR
Pastor Says Majority Is With Him. Opponents, Less in Number, Contribute 75 Per cent. of the Money -- Say He Is Arrogant
Rev. Dr. Henry M. Kieffer, renowned in Civil War annals as the "Fighting Drummer Boy" of the famous Bucktail Regiment, and for 18 years the pastor of one of the best-known churches in Pennsylvania -- the First Reformed of Easton -- is now the central figure in one of the most remarkable church dissensions on record.
He is bringing the "fighting blood" of nearly eight centuries of warlike ancestors to bear against the assaults of his opponents, and not only the thriving city of Easton, but the surrounding country, is intensely interested in the progress of the battle of the pastor and his supporters against those who are determined that he shall surrender and retire -- a condition which the fighting preacher says is impossible.
Rev. Dr. Kieffer is probably best known to the world of literature through his widely-read book, published two decades ago, called "The Recollections of a Drummer Boy," which was a stirring account of the war experiences of the famous Bucktails during the war.
He added to his fame when he became in 1885 the pastor of the First Reformed Church of Easton, that was built in the first year of American Independence -- in fact, was started about the same time that the echo of the Declaration of Independence went thundering across the world.
It is a church that numbers among its congregation families whose ancestors -- immediate and remote -- have been identified with the struggles of the nation on its various battlefields, and it very well known that while the present pastor and the bone of contention between the opposing factions is directly descended from a long line of warlike progenitors, that he has not a stronger claim to the fighting spirit than many members of his flock.
START OF THE FIGHT
What was it that first started the congregational dissensions that have threatened to split the venerable institution in twain?
To locate positively the beginning of the strife is not an easy matter, but it seems to be pretty well agree that an agitation over the use of individual communion cups fanned the flame of dissension until it is now a blaze which nothing but the complete routing of one of the contesting elements will settle.
The yearly meeting held not long ago was the stormiest one ever known in the history of the First Reformed Church, and as an indirect result Rev. Mr. Kieffer and his supporters have scored against their opponents.
There were -- according to Dr. Kieffer -- votes that represented 315 members of his congregation that demanded he stay in the church and votes representing 119 that demanded he sever his connection with the congregation.
"I come from a line of fighters," said Dr. Kieffer, "and if I had not I would have run off and left this church in the possession of the turbulent spirits who have made this trouble. But I will not surrender the church to them as long as the great majority want me to remain.
"Strife if no new condition in this church, and I do not intend to let the fomenters of such a condition drive me away because I think it is my duty to remain."
The direct results of the last congregational meeting were made evident when the Spiritual Council of the church, through the pastor, publicly censured, deposed from office and excommunicated John B. Otto, one of the deacons and suspended for two years, from all church fellowship, Jeremiah Angelmayer and Allan T. Groman, two of the prominent members.
This action created a sensation in Easton, as all of the parties affected are well known, and it alleged that they had been former close personal friends of Dr. Kieffer.
It is said that the legality of the action will be questioned by the opponents of Dr. Kieffer -- and especially by those directly affected -- and that a criminal law suit would probably be the outcome of the action.
"The legality of the action of the Spiritual Council," said a prominent member of the church "is questioned by the opponents of Dr. Kieffer, because they claim, as the council exists to-day, it is not legally constituted, for the elders composing it are all friendly to Dr. Kieffer and dominated by him.
"There are 134 petitioners against the action, and they are said to represent an element of the church that contributes 75 per cent. of the sum required for its support to the treasury.
WOMEN SIDE WITH PASTOR.
"Those who are backing the petitioners are principally older members of the church and their families, while the supporters of Dr. Kieffer are principally women, and the younger element whom he has confirmed in the past 10 years."
There was a meeting of the East Pennsylvania Classis (?) of the Reformed Church held in Easton, at which Dr. Kieffer and his supporters and the opposition exchanged some very strong views on the question of "charges" against the pastor.
One of the main points of interest in the controversy is that it seems imminent that the famous old church after a life of over 150 years will be disrupted by the strife.
While the differences of opinion that existed between the pastor and certain members of his flock over the individual communion cup question furnished certain "grounds for the condition" that exists now they are held by both sides to have been only contributing circumstances to the main cause.
This, one side avers, is the arrogance and severity of the pastor, and the other side says that is the determination of a set of turbulent spirits to drive from his field of usefulness a sincere and loving spiritual adviser.
INDIVIDUAL CUPS.
The subject of individual communion cups has always been a tender one in the First Reformed Church.
It first appeared on the surface of its affairs about a year ago when certain prominent communicants advocated their use on religious and sanitary grounds.
They were promptly opposed by the pastor and it was not long 'ere the congregation was divided into two camps over the subject.
Dr. Kieffer's main reason for unalterable opposition to the innovation was that it was sacrilegious and contrary to the commands of Scripture.
He made the basis of his defense of the congregational communion cup the thought contained in the 26th chapter of St. Matthew: "And He took the cup and gave thanks; and gave it to them, saying: 'Drink ye all of it.'"
In alluding publicly to the subject that threw the church into "painful commotion," Dr. Kieffer said that it was contrary to the Divine will to countenance such an innovation, and that the spirit of the sacarament would be wrongfully observed if they were adopted.
The matter was finally put to a vote and the majority of the congregation stood by the ancient method of receiving communion.
THE EXCOMMUNICATION.
But this controversy seemed to open the way for other differences between the pastor and certain of his congregation that culminated in the dramatic excommunication of Deacon Otto on February 15 before a full congregation.
The exact language used by the pastor in severing the ties of Christian fellowship between Mr. Otto and his brethren of the First Reformed was as follows:--
"Acting under the direction of the Spiritual Council I very regretfully announce: First, that John B. Otto be, and hereby is, censured; second, that he be deposed of his office as deacon, and, thirdly, that he be hereby excommunicated from the Christian Church."
It was said that such a penalty had never been inflicted upon any member of the church in its history of 150 years and the reading of the sentence of excommunication created a sensation.
The terms of the punished meted out to Messrs. Angelmayer and Groman was communicated to them through the mails and not announced from the pulpit.
PASTOR GIVES NUMBERS.
The pastor claims that he has the support of 315 members out of a total of over 500 in his battle against those he terms are the "turbulent spirits" while 119 demand that he shall sever his relations with the pastorate.
"It is," he said, "practically a battle for the control of the church and I will not turn the people who are in the majority over to the mercies of the turbulent element.
"There are about 80 members who will not take sides in the affair and who refuse to sign any paper and of the 199 who demand my resignation from 30 to 40 per cent. are not entitled to a vote and are simply dead wood in the church. A certain percentage of this 119 has been procured under duress and some of the signatures against me have been procured through business relation and by compulsion.
"I will quote you one instance: The head of one family who signed the petition asking my withdrawal said to me: 'We didn't want to sign this paper we had to or lose our work.'
"They are employed by one of the members who is determined I shall go."
SAY HE IS ARROGANT.
The representatives of the opposition emphatically disclaim such responsibility.
"Dr. Kieffer cannot name one man who signed the petition against him under duress," said one of his opponents.
"We represent three-fourths of the financial support give to the church and we can prove this statement.
"Dr. Kieffer says there are over 500 members, does he?
"Well, his is mistaken, for at no time in the history of the church has the membership exceeded 400.
"He has been high-handed and arrogant in his methods."
"He won't allow us access to the church books and he has done many things that have culminated in the dissatisfaction that exists among his congregation to-day."
"It is idle to say that the disturbance was caused by the communion cup agitation. It was only an incident in the series of misunderstandings that have arisen, and which we fear may disrupt a congregation that has endured for over a century and a half."
DR. KIEFFER'S ANCESTRY.
Rev. Dr. Kieffer is well named the "fighting preacher." He traces his maternal ancestry back to the 12th century, when one of his direct line was a Crusader.
This soldier was George Spengler, born about 1150 A.D., who accompanied the German emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, in the third Crusade against the Moslems in 1189, perished in battle and was buried in the Church of St. Peter, Antioch, in 1190 A.D.
Lazarus Spengler, another maternal ancestor, was coadjutor of Martin Luther and present with him at the Diet of Worms.
His great grandfather, Abraham Kieffer, as a captain in the Revolution and a colleague of George Beaver, the great grandfather of ex-Governor Beaver. At the close of the Revolution they each married the other's sister.
Dr. Kieffer himself fought in the Civil War for three years. He enlisted as a drummer boy at the age of 16, in the Bucktails and served until the end. He was present in all the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac from Chancellorsville to the close of the Rebellion, and was a participant in the first day's battle at Gettysburg, when his battalion, out of a total of 397 men, lost 264. He afterward served as chaplain of the Sixth Pennsylvania National Guard for five years and is known to almost every soldier in Pennsylvania.
* * *
And how did it all turn out?
It seems that, within a few weeks, Dr. Rev. Kieffer lost his power struggle.
And John B. Otto's excommunication was overturned.
I found this via an article in the March 21, 1903, issue of The Lancaster Examiner.
RUIN IN COMMUNION CUP.
Classis Drops Dr. Kieffer, and He Says "Good-By."
East Pennsylvania Classis, sitting as a committee of the whole, at Easton, on Wednesday, continued its investigation of the First Reformed Church troubles which origination in a row over individual communion cups. The pastor, Rev. Dr. H.M. Kieffer, took the floor, and commenced where he left off Tuesday night. He denounced Elder Jacob Rader as a troublesome spirit, and handled ex-Deacon John B. Otto, whom the spiritual council of the church had ex-communicated, without gloves. Dr. Kieffer talked four hours, after which his opponents made reply.
Then Rev. Jacob Rupp, of Northampton, offered a compromise resolution, assuming that the Kieffer faction was able to take care of the church, and that even though the petitioners should leave, their going would not be a serious loss to the congregation. This resolution permitted Dr. Kieffer to remain as pastor of the flock, provided that Messers. Anglemyer and Groman, suspended from office by the spiritual council, should be reinstated; granted a re-hearing to John B. Otto, who was excommunicated, and provided that no charge be made against any members of the congregation for what may have occurred prior to this date. This resolution was defeated by a vote of 13 ayes to 15 nays.
The debate then turned on Rev. Mr. DeLong's resolution, providing for a severance of the pastoral relations, to take effect on September 1. After considerable sparring a vote was taken and resulted in 17 ayes, 7 nays and 3 non-voters.
The committee of the whole then rose and reported its action to the Classis. Classis approved the finding by a vote of 19 yeas, 6 nays and 2 not voting. Counsel for Dr. Kieffer noted an appeal to Synod.
Dr. Kieffer said: "Well, brothers, I see that after September 1 I stop preaching here. You have taken a great responsibility off my shoulders. After that you will have to look after my people. I bid you good-by."
At the night session of Classis the complaint of the suspended deacons, Jeremiah Anglemeyer and A.T. Groman, and excommunicated Deacon John B. Otto, sustained, and they were reinstated to office.
* * *
And that's the story! Does it involve my family? I don't know. Either way, it's a fascinating look at the struggles 122 years around power, money, religion and, most notably in my eyes, public health. I'll leave it readers to draw whatever insights and parallels they wish to other moments in history, recent or otherwise.
Please share your thoughts in the comments, especially if you have further information regarding John B. Otto and the First Reformed Church of Easton Communion cup controversy.
Monday, June 23, 2025
Hans Holzer's "How to Cope with Problems"
- Title: How to Cope with Problems
- Additional cover text: "Stop being a victim! Take charge of your life!"
- Author: Hans Holzer (1920-2009)
- Publisher: Pyramid (A3659)
- Publication date: November 1976
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 205
- Cover price: $1.50
- What problems are addressed? (Deep breath) Accidents, aging process, alcoholism, allergies, animals, attackers and interlopers, attention, children, confinement, criminal tendencies, criticism, death, delays, dietary problems, divorce, doubts, drugs, embarrassment, extravagance, failure, fame and infamy, fashions and clothes, fears, financial problems, foreign languages, fraud, gambling, generation problems, guilt feelings, hostility, household drudgery, inferiority complexes, illness, jealousy, job problems, love & loneliness & marriage problems & rejection & sex problems (all lumped together under "Love"), melancholia and depressions, personality changes, prejudices, psychic experiences, responsibility, shyness, sleeplessness and smoking.
- Is there a chapter on coping with presidents? Not specifically.
- Dedication: "To my many friends, that they may rarely need this book, and to my few enemies, that they may profit from it."
- Excerpt from Chapter I: "Presumably, in the Garden of Eden problems as we understand the word today did not exist. That is, until the well known incident with the apple and the serpent. In a problem-free world, there exists neither stress nor turmoil."
- Holzer on coping with animals: "Domestic animals ... not only need care in feeding, they need love and understanding of their needs on all levels. Animals may not be able to to express themselves elaborately through speech, but they are possessed of basic instincts which tell them pretty much the same things a sentence of speech conveys. If you feel love toward them, they can sense it, if they reject them, they know that, too."
- Holzer on coping with household drudgery: "If you still feel frustrated and angry at having to perform your household duties, look at them not as drudges but as your contribution toward the whole family. As you clean the floors of your home, remind yourself that it is your home, which contains so much of your personality, so much that you have contributed in terms of decoration, in terms of your own emotions."
- Holzer on coping with death: "But as the legend of 'Death in Samara' teaches, there is no escape from death, so we might as well not worry about it. If death is to find the individual at any given moment, he will find him whether he is on the ground or in the air, standing on a ladder or walking down the street."
- Reviews: None, really. I don't think Holzer's books were as popular when they weren't about ghosts, witches or other supernatural stuff. But he could definitely churn them out, especially in the 1970s, and publishers seemed willing to publish them on his name value alone. Most of his advice in the book is practical and commonsense, but I don't think his readers were looking for him to be Dear Abby.
Phantom's biggest problem is her brother Bandit.
Sunday, June 22, 2025
From the readers: The Golden Institute, 'Bridge Babies' and more
Let's take our minds off the rapidly unfolding events in the Middle East for a few minutes with a roundup of recent reader comments...
And Dustin adds: "I was also led here by an ad in a 1983 Hercules comic book I just received."
All roads from 1983 comics lead to The Golden Institute ... and Papergreat. But the answers may remain forever a mystery. I did a new search and didn't come up with anything about the $4 cures for loneliness, either.
1938 receipt from Albert Brothers Steam Bakery: Nancy Hayes writes: "Actually, the founder of Albert Brothers was my grandfather, Stanley Albert. He and his brother Henry founded the business. Stanley Albert died in the early 1960s. His wife was Gertrude Albert, nee Steiner, and they lived across the street from the bakery on Railroad Avenue."
Thanks for sharing this information, Nancy! We now have a more complete and accurate record of the history.
Curious book cover: "Bridge Babies": Anonymous writes: "My dad was a competitive bridge player. This was in our house. As a kid I would look at this book for hours. Inspired my sense of humor for sure."
It's definitely an unforgettable book cover!
The commenters have even included actor Wings Hauser, who, sadly, died earlier this year at age 77. I'll always remember his memorable scene with Bruce McGill in The Insider.
Anyway, in 2023, Chris Harris made the following comment on the Crockett post: "Much has been said in a negative way about Paul Crockett. I witnessed over a period of two years having introduced him to many notable people that Paul Crockett had a tremendous ability to inspire a positive attitude in all the people he met, including myself."
On May 18, Anonymous replied to Harris: "I was 3 or 4 times advantaged by spending some time with Crockett between 1971-1973 in Death Valley — Baker (I think, or Shoshone), and at last at Little Paul's in Tecopa, where I also met a guy named Chris. I suspect that was you. I commented here in 2019 that a biography of the Big Paul I knew, whose influence I saw in others there, would stand as a useful memorial to his exceptional understanding of our natural selves. I thought then that Manson had also learned aspects of this way of being, that this was a source of his ability to control adherents, but which he ended up turning against those he envied and despised. Paul probably believed it'd be better not to have to live the rest of his life completely in the shadow of the Manson phenomenon. Many others, however, would now be better off knowing more about Paul Crockett."
Going back 45 years for a product that I'm not putting in the headline: Anonymous writes: "Arthur's used to have well-made women's clothing that you will never see today. All my clothing when I was little came from Alfred Carlos's Polly Flinders smocking."
A letter my grandmother mailed to me 33 years ago: Tom from Garage Sale Finds writes: "What a sweet letter and a great keepsake. I remember 1992. I was just hitting the job market and couldn't find anything. Of course it wasn't so bad I was selling bleach door to door. Those people knew hard times.
Coincidentally, because I couldn't find a job during that year (1991 to 92) I spent a lot of time with my grandparents too and got to know them a lot better. I wish they were still around as I have so many questions now that I never thought to ask."
And even our parents. At least once a week I think of something I wished I had asked Mom about, or written down when she answered.
"Jim and Judy," a 1939 grade-school textbook with a York connection: Anonymous writes: "I started 1st grade in 1952. The Jim and Judy book was our primer. I loved them and have fond memories of learning to read with them."
That's so nice of you to say! Thank you. I hope I can continue posting for a long time, too.
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